Whooping Crane bouncing back from brink of Extinction

Once down to just 15, the Whooping Crane has bounced back to 237 total in the world's only flock.

The biologist tracking the flock has said that 45 cranes were born last year, an astounding amount for a creature that was so in danger of becoming extinct not too long ago.

The increase has been linked to the mild weather that has been found at the nesting grounds of the whooping crane for the last couple of years.

They didn't have any cold weather snaps like they usually have--according to the biologist, those snaps tend to kill the chicks before they can grow strong enough to survive.

This is being hailed as proof of what an all-out effort to preserve a wild animal can do. The animal was nearly gone, and now, with the help of scientists, the animal seems to not only be surviving but thriving under the new conditions.

While far from reaching the kind of numbers enjoyed by the gray whale and American peregrine falcon on the Fish and Wildlife Service's list of recovered species, the crane's numbers have slowly increased since counting began in 1938.

Hunters first stopped hunting these animals in the 1950s, after a decade-long campaign by the wildlife officials. The hunters started avoiding the animals after they saw how truly rare the birds were.

The Whooping Crane was one of the first animals put on the endangered species list, and while they are a long way from being off of it..they seem to be growing at a steady pace..and sometime, they will no longer be in danger.